| Samsung unveils Galaxy S III accessories May 3rd 2012, 18:51  While the star of today's Unpacked event is certainly Samsung's Galaxy S III, every hero can benefit from a few good sidekicks -- or in the case of this Android superphone, accessories. Up for offer will be a variety of goods including a flip cover, battery-charging stand, spare battery, car dock, "metallic docking stand" and HDMI adapter. Perhaps most interesting pieces, however, are the AllCast wireless dongle (which appears to be direct competition to HTC's Media Link HD video-mirroring device), a Wireless Charging Kit and an S-pebble MP3 player that plays nice with the scan and match feature in the Music Hub app. Developing... Samsung unveils Galaxy S III accessories originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 May 2012 14:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | Samsung Galaxy S III HSPA+ arriving in May, 4G version hitting North America this summer May 3rd 2012, 18:30  Okay, okay, it's here -- but when can you actually get your hands on Samsung's Galaxy S III? Well, if you're in Europe, you're looking at a May 29th release for the HSPA+ version. Those of us in North America, Japan and Korea will have to wait a bit longer for speed -- the LTE version of the handset will be hitting those areas in the summer. Specifically, it'll be arriving in the US in June. In all, the phone will be hitting some 296 mobile operators in 145 countries, according to the company. Samsung Galaxy S III HSPA+ arriving in May, 4G version hitting North America this summer originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 May 2012 14:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | Samsung announces SmartStay and S Voice features for the Galaxy S III May 3rd 2012, 18:29  In addition to announcing its newest flagship, the Galaxy S III, along with some nifty photo-sharing features, Samsung has just revealed two more human-friendly features that aim to further differentiate the phone on the software side. These include SmartStay, which cleverly keeps the display from timing out by using the front-facing camera to detect when you're looking at the screen. Meanwhile, S Voice ushers in voice commands, and is the closest thing we've seen to a Siri competitor since Apple introduced that feature on the iPhone 4S. And we have to say, though Android users have long been reveling in voice-activated dialing and Google searches, the list of possible use cases here is quite impressive. In addition to initiating calls, you can wake the phone, request songs, send emails and text messages, use the calendar app, adjust the volume, capture photos, snooze the alarm and inquire about the weather. For now, Samsung says this feature will support eight languages, including, among others, Spanish, German, Korean and American / British English. Still, we wouldn't put it past Samsung to teach the GS III a few more languages once it gets that whole "launching in 145 countries" thing out of the way. Samsung announces SmartStay and S Voice features for the Galaxy S III originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 May 2012 14:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | Samsung Galaxy S III vs. rival flagships: iPhone 4S, HTC One X, Lumia 900 May 3rd 2012, 18:03  Oh yes, it's a good time to go shopping for a smartphone, particularly if you've acquired a taste for an abundance of pixels and silicon cores. But which phones ought to be considered flagships worthy of comparison with the shiny new GS III? Yes, we're including the Lumia 900 in this context, for the sake of platform neutrality and also in recognition of the fact that raw specs don't count for everything -- but we can't overlook that this handset is sorely lacking in terms of ppi and some other areas. The next two choices are more obvious: the eternal (or infernal) iPhone 4S and AT&T's version of the HTC One X. So here it is: one table to rule them all, right after the break. Continue reading Samsung Galaxy S III vs. rival flagships: iPhone 4S, HTC One X, Lumia 900 Samsung Galaxy S III vs. rival flagships: iPhone 4S, HTC One X, Lumia 900 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 May 2012 14:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | Samsung Galaxy S III focuses on photography sharing features, not cutting-edge optics May 3rd 2012, 18:01  Samsung's Galaxy S III doesn't boast 41-megapixel captures or top-of-the-line optics. Instead, its camera's strengths are in its intelligent organization and social features, increasing the handset's appeal as a point-and-shoot alternative for casual photographers. Samsung's latest round of compacts and mirrorless dedicated snappers reaffirm suspicions that the company is taking a different approach to photography, focusing on connectivity and social enhancements, rather than updated sensor and low-light shooting technologies. While such decisions may prompt advanced shooters to bring their business to competitors, it highlights Samsung's strengths on a broader level, as a connectivity enabler, rather than a camera maker. The company is clearly committed to growing its ecosystem and uniting product divisions in an effort to increase penetration throughout different categories, developing sharing tools that simplify workflows and increase appeal. Samsung's latest flagship smartphone packs standard specs, like 8-megapixel stills and 1080p video, but it offers a handful of software features that combine to make the device a compelling upgrade, especially from an imaging perspective. Join us past the break as we detail the Galaxy S III's photography enhancements, from Best Photo to Face Zoom. Continue reading Samsung Galaxy S III focuses on photography sharing features, not cutting-edge optics Samsung Galaxy S III focuses on photography sharing features, not cutting-edge optics originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 May 2012 14:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | Samsung Galaxy S III is official: 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED display, quad-core Exynos processor and gesture functions May 3rd 2012, 18:00  The Galaxy S III is Samsung's new flagship smartphone and it's finally broken cover at the company's stand-alone Mobile Unpacked event here in London. With a steady stream of fakes, outright leaks and even event rescheduling, Samsung's claimed almost crazy levels of interest for its new smartphone. Weighing in at 133g (4.7 ounces) and whittled to 8.6mm at its thickest, the rounded-off design has more than a little bit in common with its Galaxy Nexus cousin. Of course, it's Samsung's new 1.4GHz Exynos 4 Quad processor doing the legwork, and there's 1GB of RAM to help it out. The display has been bumped up in size to a 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED affair, sporting a 1280 x 720 pixel count. Happy snappers will have an 8-megapixel rear shooter to play with, and a 1.9-megapixel eye on the front will take care of those video calls. If you were wondering about radios, it's launching with HSPA+, but there's an LTE version in the cards. As for the interface, it's TouchWiz on top of Android 4.0 again, and there's new gesture functions to help you get around. So, there it is, the phone we've all been waiting for (until the next one) but that's not all, be sure to check our hands-on coverage and additional features for the in-depth breakdown. Continue reading Samsung Galaxy S III is official: 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED display, quad-core Exynos processor and gesture functions Samsung Galaxy S III is official: 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED display, quad-core Exynos processor and gesture functions originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 May 2012 14:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | |
